A Peculiar Meeting and a Peculiar Dilemma
by FandomChic
Summary: They stood there staring at each other, thinking of what really was unfolding before them. Both Olive and Enoch knew it was much more than they could handle by themselves. In this crack fanfic, Emma and Regina try to help some strange teenagers, while sharing a bit of banter. Slowburn Swanqueen Endgame
1. Chapter 1

Hey, so this is a fanfic I've been working with on and off whenever my muse hits me. These first few chapter were written by me about a year ago, so beware of a couple mistakes. Besides that, Enjoy!

Everything was hazy. Not just her recollection of what had happened, but her ability to see and hear as well.

Regina squinted her eyes trying to adjust the blurry shapes that were swimming before her. A soft ringing filled her ears unpleasantly. Dizzy, she tried to put a hand up to her head but found she was not able to do so. Instead, her arm rubbed against a rough surface.

Her focus snapped into place as she came to notice the thick piece of rope that was wrapped tightly around her body. Struggling, she tried in vain to wriggle herself out of the bonds, but the restraints prevailed.

Not wanting to tip the chair over, after a while she gave up. Sighing in exasperation she tilted her head backward, finally taking notice of her surroundings.

The building she was in seemed to be quiet grand. The walls covered with large wood carvings, and the floors decorated with interact tile work. Lavish bookshelves, sofas, and chairs were laid out around the room with care.

She tilted her head as much as her restraints would allow as her gaze fell on the big, oak double doors that lay just left of the towering bookcase. It was too far away, she could never make it in this state.

Pulling against the ropes again, Regina found herself increasingly more desperate. God, she wished she had a dose of Charming optimism right now, Charmings— the others. Where were they? Surely they knew she was missing by now. But how long had she been missing?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a creak, announcing an arrival as the door opened. Her wide eyes fell on a young girl no older than fifteen. She had blazing red hair and wore a pale pink dress with a sash cinching it up at the waist.

The girl seemed to be alone but was talking to something in the space next to her. Was she the one who had so-called "kidnapped" the Evil Queen? It wasn't too far out since she was probably no in her right mind as she's talking to nobody as if it were somebody.

Regina raised her eyebrow when she saw the girl carried a small knife in her hand. Was it to kill her or to free her? She preferred the latter of the two.

"I know Millard…." There was a pause in the conversation. "We can't just leave her here all tied up! If the mistress finds her here…" She trailed off as she came closer stopping only a good arm's length away.

Regina put on her best intimidating scowl as the girl looked her up and down.

"You know staring isn't polite, and neither is kidnapping." The queen spat. There was a pause.

"Are you sure freeing her is the best choice? She doesn't seem like she's all bark no bite."

Regina started at the voice, as she had observed that the girls mouth hadn't even twitched the slightest.

The girl turned slightly to the side, glancing over in that direction.

"What did I say Millard, no talking! We don't want to scare her away like the last one."

"I thought we agreed on no spooking. You never said anything about talking." Regina could almost detect a pout in the words.

"Yes, I did! I said to leave it all to me, no interrupting, no spooking, no nothing."

There was silence, signaling that the bodiless boy had given up. The red head sighed and turned back to the queen, her mouth slightly agape looking back and forth between the girl and the invisible boy.

Regina closed her mouth and cleared her throat.

"What do you intend to do with that knife, dear?"

The girl didn't answer as she looked down on the queen with apprehension. There was a long pause again.

"She plans to free you—"

"Millard!"

"What? You didn't answer her so I decided to not be rude!"

The girl glared at the space next to her, then knelt down next to the chair. Cutting the ropes off carefully, she stepped back quiet a long distance for good measure.

Regina got up slowly brushing off the broken pieces of rope with ease. Stretching her arms and legs, the girl and probably the boy, kept a hawks eye on the newly free queen. Once she was done the red head crossed her arms as started to talk.

"First things first, don't try to escape or else there will be a severe consequences. Understood?"

Regina had to physically stop herself from laughing. Did this young girl really think a pocket knife could scare her into obedience? She decided to play along with her game so she nodded her head slightly.

"Understood."

"Secondly, we do not want to hurt you so our interest might be your best interest as you do what you are told to do, ok?"

The queen nodded again.

The girl clapped her hands with an expression of slight delight.

"Okay then, we must get started soon. Follow me." And with that she turned towards the door and started to walk.

"I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name dear. If I'm to be doing as you like the least you can do is tell me your name." Regina piped up, staying in place.

Pink petite coats ruffled slightly as the girl turned around slightly to face the queen.

"The name's Olive." She did not smile as she turned again and headed out the doors as Regina followed after her, Millard somewhere in between.

"So what exactly are I supposed to do for you?" Regina questioned as she was lead down the hall by Olive.

"I shouldn't tell you now." Olive replied simply.

The queen rolled her eyes at the girl's vague answer. So they were playing this game.

"But, I can tell you that you will not be working alone."

They stoped beside another door on the left almost identical to the one they had come out of. Olive turned the knob and reveled another large room filled with lavish furniture and carved walls.

"Well, I'll be damned." The brunette muttered under her breath.

Inside the room tided to a chair, sat a disheveled Emma Swan, blonde locks more fizzy than usual.

"About time." Emma muttered as the red head knelt down to free her as well.

Released, Emma rubbed her writs and shot a look of distain at Regina.

"Are you with them?" Emma questioned, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Dear, you honestly think I would hire a bunch of peculiar teenagers to kidnap you only to leave you in a room tied to a chair?" She raised her eyebrow.

"It's not like your one for subtlety." The blonde said under her breath as Olive, and probably Millard, shot daggers at Regina's "Peculiar" comment. She didn't care.

Olive directed her pocket knife towards both of the women.

"Com'on both of you."

Emma and Regina slowly shuffled into the hallway again, side by side, Olive at the back. They continued walking in silence for a couple awkward seconds.

"It's abducted you know."

"What?" Regina said confused.

"You said "kidnap me ", that's for children. The correct term is abducted."

Regina rolled her eyes at Emma's stupid remark.

"Well, you defiantly have the maturity level of a 1st grader." The queen shot back. The blonde only shot a grin back at Regina. Regina chuckled and shook her head.

They continued their way down the never ending hall thats walls seem to twist and bend at strange angles, the ceiling far to high. The farther they traveled, the more narrow the walls seemed to be together. Old electric lamps flickered slightly, sparks of electricity flying out across their glass domes.

Suddenly, Emma hit an invisible wall and stumbled backwards clutching her temple.

"Hey watch where you're going." The still invisible Millard scolded. The blonde grumbled loudly but kept her quips to herself.

Regina hadn't known Millard was there, and it made her feel uneasy. The door at the end of the long hallway opened on its own accord as Millard entered, leaving the door open for the three other ladies.

Regina felt a slight jab in her back as Olive poked her with the knife. The queen internally cursed at the child and entered the room, Emma trailing behind her.

The door slammed shut with the loud clang of metal, leaving the four people in a room lit dully with blue electricity. Regina sucked in a breath of cold air as she surveyed the gloomy room.

It seemed to be abandoned laboratory of some sort, or what looked to be abandoned. That or these "Peculiar" children were terrible at house cleaning. Tables covered in dusty books and vials that held strange colored liquids. Jars filled with pickled organs littered the room, and old fashioned equipment that looked more so like medieval torture devices filled the shelves.

Grime lay heavily on everything, and the room was filled with a nasty, musky scent. How… peculiar was the only word she could to describe the room. That and creepy.

Her eyes landed on a table in the left corned where a young boy, about the age of 18, sat. He was fiddling with what seemed to be a child's toy; hunching over it with intense interest. The boy seemed to have not acknowledged their presence.

Olive cleared her throat. The boy looked up at the new arrivals and slowly set his screw driver down on the table.

He stayed there sitting, just staring with empty eyes.

"I've brought new ones, just as you requested."

The boy said nothing again, but only stood up and circled around them, inspecting, like a bird of prey. Emma stared at him with a mixture a curiosity and apprehension.

"Has the mistress found out yet." Was his only reply after circling around them a few times. He stood next to Olive but continued to face the two older women.

"No Enoch." Olive said, watching him closely.

He nodded almost approvingly, crossing back over to his seat and sitting down. Enoch was quiet as he fiddled with the toy some more.

"Inform them of our plans." He said not taking his eyes off his experiment."I want them in preparation for what is to come." And with that he completely ignored the four other people in the room.

Olive watched him for a couple moments, back hunched over the desk again. Finally she looked back at the women.

"I'm sure you're hungry. Follow me, we have a lot to discuss." She opened the heavy door and stood in the doorway expectedly.

Emma turned to Regina and shrugged. The three other people again headed out of the room together; the door clanging closed behind them.

 **Please make sure to leave reviews! They help me out a lot! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The group of people was silent as they made their way back to the hall, Olive leading. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft clicks of shoes and a faint hum of a generator that was somewhere hidden behind the labyrinth of walls.

Regina played absentmindedly with the fringe of her coat, thumbing it between her fingers. She glanced up every couple seconds or so, scanning her surroundings. The brunette wasn't worried in the least about what the three teenagers had in store for her and Emma but it was a good idea to stay alert, just in case.

She looked over at Emma who was looking down at her feet, walking in a straight line across one of the patterns in the worn carpet. The blonde looked up at her and raised her eyebrows mouthing the words "you ok?" Regina nodded and looked away.

When they reached another large pair of doors, Olive turned around to face them.

"So here's the deal, no talking, no touching anything. No stupid stunts. No trying to escape or any horseplay. We go in quickly grab what we need and get out." Olive turned her back and reached for the door handle.

Emma raised her hand mockingly.

"Are we allowed to breathe? Blink? What if I have to sneeze?" The blonde asked with a straight face, a small pout in her voice.

Olive turned back around and glared at the woman.

"No stupid questions either."

Emma crossed her arms and stuck out her lip as Olive opened the door. Regina chuckled at the blonde's display and moved to enter the room. Emma entered before her and bumped into Millard again.

"Watch it! Three strikes you're out!" The invisible boy snapped. The blonde took a couple steps back to ensure he had enough room to enter, rubbing her chest.

Regina reached the other women's side as they both entered the large room, presumedly the kitchen.

"Why are we still here? We could have left ages ago and not stay around to indulge in this…" The blonde searched for the words. "Childish game."

Regina shrugged slightly and leaned to the side towards Emma.

"I don't know. What else do we have to do?"

Emma pondered the idea then quirked her mouth in agreement, picking up a strange looking fruit and tossing it into the air. Olive shot them a look that could kill.

Whispering she replied, "I guess your right."

Olive crossed over to the two women and handed them both bowls of brown looking sludge and ushered them out the door quickly. Closing the door behind her she pointed to a staircase to the left.

"Head up the stairs and go to the first door on the left. Millard with guide you and make sure you don't run off. Eat quickly, I will join you momentarily."

With that Olive headed down the hallway, they had just come from, fast paced.

"You heard her, move it," Millard said sharply.

The blonde and the brunet shuffled up the stairs, each step made the structure creak in protest.

"Are you sure these things are safe? They look about a hundred years old." Emma questioned, carefully mapping each step she took. The invisible boy ignored her as the continued through the ancient house.

As they reached the first door on the left, they entered into what seemed to be a small bedroom.

It was scarcely decorated, only with a few old photos that were tattered and torn that hung limply from the yellowing walls. The bed was placed against one of the walls, thin bed sheets laying on its small demeanor. A large trunk covered with a multitude of locks and straps, lay closed in the middle of the room.

A meager window was the only source of light and daylight streamed through wispy curtains, slightly tinting it yellow.

"Someone is really into interior decorating." The blonde muttered sarcastically under her breath as she too took in their surroundings.

The queen sat down on the bed and it gave a loud **creak**. Emma perched next to her, scrunched her nose up as she looked down at the brown sludge.

"I can't tell whats worse. What they plan to do with us or the food."

Regina looked down at her own bowl and internally agreed.

"Maybe," The blonde started, "it's poisoned."

"Nonsense, if they want us alive for something then they won't kill us with the food."

Emma quirked a playful eyebrow. "Maybe that's the point, maybe they planned to poison us with the food all along if you could even call this food."

The brunette rolled her eyes and set her food aside as the blonde stared at her's with distaste.

"Millard?" The blonde called out to the seemingly empty room.

"Right here." Emma jumped at how close in proximity the voice was.

"This isn't poisoned right?" She said as she poked it with her spoon.

Oh great here we go, Regina, thought to herself.

"No." He replied shortly.

"Are you sure cause—." She was cut off as Olive entered the room clutching a large book to her chest.

The room was silent for a moment as she pulled up a chair and sat down across from the blonde and the brunette. The redhead paused for second as she looked up and down at the other occupants of the dull room.

"Why aren't you eating?" Olive questioned in confusion.

Not to be rude, but this stuff looks like it will eat us instead." Emma quipped, staring pointedly at her bowl.

"You don't have to eat if you don't want to, but anyways, that's not the point. Right now you need to be informed of our plans."

Now, this was getting somewhere interesting Regina thought to herself. Emma also seemed to agree, since she had looked up to face the redhead.

"All you need to know is right here." Olive patted the book that was sitting in her lap. It was clothed in worn leather, and pieces of paper jutted from its pages.

"A book," Emma repeated.

"Don't be so dense dear, we have plenty of information about our lives in that storybook Henry loves." The queen pointed out.

The blonde nodded thoughtfully.

Olive narrowed her eyes in confusion then shook her head and continued.

"The reason we have brought you here—."

"Abducted." Regina and Emma corrected simultaneously

.

"Right, **abducted** you was because we need your help."

The brunette raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You could have just asked you know," Emma said crossing her arms, her brows furrowing together.

"Yes, but we weren't so sure you would agree. The others, they didn't exactly… like the idea." Millard put in.

"Yeah, well we're not so sure we will help until you tell us what we're helping with." The queen shot back, straightening her posture.

Olive took a deep breath, nodded, and continued on.

"Our kind is being threatened by an almost nonexistent creature.."

"I'm sorry, your kind?" Regina interrupted. She could hear Millard sigh next to her.

"Yes, our kind. We all have odd, some would even say peculiar abilities."

"For example," The redhead explained. "Millard here is invisible and I have the ability to wield fire."

Emma looked over at the queen with a childish smirk plastered on her face.

"Looks like you found a twin."

"Shut up." Regina retorted, focusing back on the girl in front of her. "I'm assuming there's more than just two of you."

"Yes, there's Enoch and many more of us all around the world," Olive answered. "As I was saying we are in danger."

"You mentioned something about an almost nonexistent monster," Emma said, tilting her head.

"Hollows."

"Excuse me?"

"Hollows." The fire girl repeated. "Also know as Hollowgasts. We thought we had driven them out of existence with the help of an old friend, but we were wrong. There is at least still one that lives, and it has made some… unwanted appearances lately." She took another breath. "They're usually controlled by someone but now…"

There was a pause in the still room.

"Why us?" Regina asked. "Why choose us to help you?"

Olive went silent, wringing her hands in her lap.

"Because we are unable to defeat them on our own." The quiet answer came from the invisible boy.

Regina saw Emma frown at that answer. She knew that wasn't the complete truth.

"We'll help you." The blonde replied.

"We will?" Regina shot up a brow in question.

"Yes," She turned to the brunette. "We will."

A large smile crept across Olive's face at the answer. The mood in the room was suddenly enlightened by a fraction.

"That's wonderful!" It came out as a delighted squeak as she clasped her hands together.

"Yes, thank you." Millard's voice was lighter as well. The brunette put on a forced smile and nodded.

"Anything to help."

"Is there anything we could get you while you prepare?" The redhead's words were almost too happy.

"Decent food would be nice." The blonde grumbled, gesturing to the sludge.

"Of course."

 **Don't forget to leave reviews! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The two women crept along the grounds outside of the mansion.

"We're fine Regina. What's the worst that those hybrid children can do to us? Lock us in that creepy laboratory?"

The brunette gave Emma a raised eyebrow.

"We just got on their good side," Regina reasoned. "perhaps sneaking out in the middle of the night might not be the best thing to do in this instance."

The blonde rolled her eyes and crept out of sight below a window.

"If you didn't think this was a good idea then you should have said something before we got out of the

house." Emma straightened to full height. "Besides, they need us. So it's not like they can just feed us to the wolves."

"We don't know that for sure." Regina pointed out as she too bent down below the window. "It's not like they said we were irreplaceable."

The two of them wandered through a hedge of bushes and into an empty clearing on the side of the house.

"Oh come on Regina. Don't deny that it is nice to get some fresh air. Stop being so stuck up and enjoy life for once."

The brunette opened her mouth to say something then decided arguing with a determined Emma Swan would result in no good. They continued walking, their shadows casting long dark shapes along the lawn.

Regina looked down at her feet as the dry grass crunched under her weight. The blades casting tiny shadows of their own. Cool night air blowing them to the side slightly. Suddenly, she crashed in Emma.

"Ow." Regina cried, clutching her temple. "What's your jacket made of? Steel?"

"Shh."

"But—"

"Quiet." The blonde held up a hand. "You hear that?"

The brunette glanced around but saw or heard nothing.

"Hear what? There's nothing here. You're probably just paranoid…"

Regina trailed off as a slight sound reached her. So quiet, almost uneducable, but still there, the sound of something thick dripping and a sharp hissing.

"It's around here."

"What is" Reinga questioned, "The hollowgast?"

"Yeah, the hollow-thingy-magiger,"

"Where?"

They listened for the sound but it was gone, replaced with the quiet of the night. Too quiet.

Then there it was again, but accompanying it was the sound of something shifting, slimy, sluggish walking.

"It's hunting us." Regina said, voice steady as ever.

"We can't just stand here. I bet you my life that it has better night vision than us."

"You won't have your life to bet on if you keep talking so loud." The brunette whispered back sharply.

Emma mimed locking her lips shut and throwing away the key. Regina sighed in exasperation. Could that woman take anything seriously?

Completely still, the two stood right out in the open, an almost too easy target for that monster to grab and drag back into the forest.

Then they could see it, almost a shadow itself. Black, hunched, emerging from the trees before them. Thick tentacles protruded for its mouth, writhing and coiling, thick saliva dripping. Black caverns where its eyes should have been.

"Do you see what I'm seeing?" The blonde whispered in shock.

"Yep."

"You know we are completely and utterly screwed right?"

"Nice dose of optimism you have there Miss Swan."

"This is not the time to be sarcastic!" It came out a little louder than intended.

The two women turned back to the dark forest to see the monster quickly sauntering towards them, a loud hissing noise emanating from it, extremities flailing about.

"That's terrifying." Emma commented. "Run?"

"That sounds about right"

The two women sprinted towards the mansion the sound of loud footsteps behind them, closing in.

Almost there, the sound became louder. The door was in plain view, escape was in sight, louder, closer, louder.

Emma threw open the door and skidded inside. Regina flew up the stairs, one gone, two gone, three gone.

The hissing was deafening and she could feel the monster's hot, sickly breath on the back of her neck.

Bolting through the doorway, she slammed the door and jumped out of the way just before a limb crashed through, wood splintering loudly.

The pounding on the door was loud and echoed through the quiet house. Another limb crashed through and the whole building shook from the force. The monster's hissing was louder and angrier than ever.

Regina turned to see the blonde running up the stairs as fast as she could. Getting to her feet quickly she followed Emma, only making it halfway up the flight of stairs before the door flew off its hinges. The hollow barreled its way in smashing through the doorway.

The brunette clutched the railing for support as the whole house shook violently; the staircase creaking in protest. She could feel the supports beneath her cracking from the force.

 **Snap.**

Freezing, she looked behind her. One of the steps had collapsed and the others would soon follow.

Taking the stairs two at a time, she could see the floor above her. Crashing filling her ears again, she could hear Emma yelling at her. Launching herself off the last couple steps, she landed on the next landing roughly.

The rest of the staircase collapsed into rubble, ear splitting sounds of wood hitting stone rang in her ears. A multitude of thick dust clouds filling the air.

Regina coughed violently as she got to her feet, swatting at the polluted air around her. She looked over at Emma who was sputtering for air as well, hands on her knees.

"What did I tell you?" The blonde said through coughs. "That staircase wasn't stable."

The brunette stormed over to Emma and grabbed her by the arm, throwing her into a room and slamming the door. Pulling up a chair and propping it up against it, Regina leaned against the wall rubbing her arm.

The room was quiet as they awaited the monsters arrival. But none came. Not even a sound was heard.

"Maybe it got scared away?" Emma suggested, putting an ear up and cupping it.

"This is all your fault!" Regina hissed with malice.

"What?"

"If you hadn't insisted to go sneaking around then, we wouldn't be running from some murderous monster!" The brunette spat, pointing accusingly.

"Regina this is hardly the time to start placing blame." The blonde tried to reason with the now fuming queen.

"No this is exactly the time to place blame!" Emma started to counter but Regina put up a hand to stop her.

"Not only did you drag me outside at midnight in a strange land, but you were careless and brought the attention of that—that thing to us! Now we are camping out in a— what is this?"

"Library." Emma offered.

"A library waiting for our imminent doom! If you haven't noticed we have no weapons, no magic, and I'm not in the mood of strangling a monster with my bare hands today! We have no idea where we actually are and we are helping a bunch of demented teenagers all because you said we would! You Miss Swan are quite frankly the biggest pain in the ass that I have **ever** had to deal with!"

Regina stood there slightly panting, her chest heaving up and down. The blonde stared at her blankly until she had calmed down.

"Are you done going all Evil Queen on me?"

The brunette stared dumbfounded at the other woman then nodded her head and turned away to scan over the room. It was eerily quiet and the tall bookcases were nothing but black shapes.

"I still stand for the theory that it got scared and ran away when the staircase completely and utterly collapsed." The blonde said as she too looked around the room.

No, that wasn't right. She could feel it, its presence looming heavily around them.

"It's still around here, somewhere." The queen said quietly ask her hairs stood on end.

She thought she could hear its hissing and the sound of liquid dripping, but as she turned around nothing but shadow was there. Her mind was playing tricks on her, and she knew it.

The tree limbs outside creaked and moaned in the nightly air, the display visible from a large window on the farthest wall. Regina took a deep breath in and tried to calm her nerves.

 **Scratch.**

The loud noise made both women jump as the sound was to their right. Whipping around there was nothing. They were greeted by another loud scratching sound to their left this time. Like nails on a chalkboard, screeching across the stone tiles of the roof.

A loud thump sounded above them, shaking their very beings. The stone cracking above them with the impact; dust falling from the ceiling.

Then it was quiet again, no hissing, no loud sounds. Again, too quiet.

"Oh shit." Emma breathed. All was still.

An earth shattering sound erupted as the hollow crashed through the window sending shards of glass flying in every direction.


	4. Chapter 4

…An earth-shattering sound erupted as the hollow crashed through the window sending shards of glass flying in every direction.

Everything was a blur, the two women ducked down as they were showered with debris. The monster's screeches rang through Regina's ears as she clutched her hands to her head. The ground rumbled as the hollow took heavy, preying footsteps towards them. The light fixture above them swung around in circles; its lights flickering off and on.

Out of the corner of her eye, Regina spotted Emma slowly getting to her feet, ready to spring out of the way. The blonde glanced over at her with worried eyes as Regina shared the same look with her. This was going to be a long and painful night.

Backing up slowly, Regina retracted closer to the door, hand behind her ready to reach for the door handle. She froze as a piece of glass broke underneath her foot, the sound resonating in the silence.

The monster bellowed and sauntered forward with immense speed, heading straight for her. Emma sprang in an attempt to block its path but a thick tentacle slapped her against the chest that sent her into a bookcase on the other side of the room. The cracking of wood was loud as she fell the floor grunting in pain. Books fell to the ground as she scuttled away before the rest of the bookcase collapsed onto the floor next to her.

The hissing became louder as the hollow turned its attention back to the queen; an awful stench emanated from the black goop that dripped from its mouth. Regina ran back to the door just as a slimy tentacle wrapped around her neck, wrenching her away into the air.

She was met face to face with the monsters jagged teeth and foul smelling breath. She clawed at her neck as its grip tightened, her supply of air cut off. Helpless, she stared into the hollows gut-wrenching features, the terrifying image before her growing blurry as reality quickly slipped from her grasp.

Regina could feel herself losing consciousness as her vision rimmed with black, the sounds around her becoming dimmer. She could feel her body becoming weak and her legs now dangling above the ground helplessly.

Suddenly, a sharp cry of pain brought the brunette back to her senses as she was dropped to the ground. Clutching her throat, she gasped for sweet air, relief rushing through her.

Looking up through teary eyes she saw the hollow writhing in pain as a large piece of glass jutted out from its back. Black oozed from the wound as the monster's tentacles tried desperately to pry it from its flesh.

An arm wrapped around her waist as she was helped to her feet. Her head swam with the sudden rush of oxygen that filled her bloodstream.

"We need to get out of here," Emma whispered as she practically carried the brunette to the still closed door. Grappling for the door handle, they exited into the hallway.

The monster's screams still split the air around them as they limped over to the window at the end of the hall. The stairs had broken down completely leaving them stranded on the second floor.

It was too far away to reach as the hollow followed them out of the library. It stood at the end of the hall they had just come from, its tentacles twitched with agitation and the new wound cut deeply into the monster's back.

Picking up a writing desk that stood near the banister, the hollow chucked it with force towards the two. Standing frozen with fear Regina was a deer in the headlights. A strong arm pulled her down and she hit the ground as the desk flew over the two women; crashing into the wall behind them with a deafening smash.

Both scrambled to their feet and made their way as fast as they could towards the window but found the desk had blocked their escape. They were trapped.

Turning back to face the monster, Regina sucked in a ragged breath, awaiting the worst. The hollow's hissing filled her head, sending shivers down her spine.

"You got any ideas?" The raspy voice next to her questioned. She turned to Emma and noticed she had a gash above her eyebrow that was dripping blood. A similar cut was inflamed and swollen on her hand.

"You're the savior! You're the one who's supposed to get us out of this!" Regina replied harshly, still slightly gasping for air.

The blonde gave her an incredulous look, squinting her eyes in annoyance at the queen. Regina turned back to see the monster advancing slowly on them, like a hunter stocking its prey.

"Any day now." She breathed to the blonde.

Next to her, Emma picked up one of the broken legs of the demolished writing desk. She swung the splintered piece of wood with as much force as she could muster aiming for the monster's mouth. The creature dodged the projectile with choppy movements and hissed in rage. A tentacle flew towards Emma and she ducked to avoid another painful blow.

Taking another shot at the monster, this time she landed a swipe and an open gash appeared on the monster's neck. It recoiled in pain as the new wound gushed the same black substance.

Tentacles and limbs flailing in infuriated motions, the blonde was sent flying backward onto the other wall, hitting her head on the banister with a sickening crunch. She lay there unmoving in a heap.

Regina's eyes widened, wanting to rush to help the now injured women but knew that wouldn't result in any good, for both of them. She wished she could just throw a fireball at the terrifying monster, but that was out of the picture.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she too was thrown back, the door she had hit busting open as she sprawled into an empty room. The hollow loomed in the doorway and she scooted back away in an attempt to flee.

Her leg was on fire and she whimpered at the painful movements. Positioning herself upward, she crawled on her hands and knees as the monster sprang towards her. Weakly flipping to the side, the brunette watched as the hollow crashed through the floor next to her, the floor giving way beneath the force.

She could hear the shrieks from the floor below her as the monster fell down the newly created hole. She scrambled away from the crater but something latched onto her ankle. Clawing at the carpet or something to grab ahold of, she was dragged down into the hole herself.

Landing with a slam on her back on the hard cement floor Regina cried out in pain, arching her back. She opened her eyes to see a limb coming straight towards her face. Rolling over, the leg cracked the cement next to her with extreme force; the shock wave shaking her insides.

Staggering to her feet, Regina stabilized herself against the wall, grasping onto it for support. Walking, or more correctly, limping slowly across the length of it, looking for something to protect herself.

Her head swam and she felt nauseous as blood dripped down the side of her leg; warm and runny. The monster chucked what appeared to be a pot towards her. She ducked with what seemed to be a great effort, and it clanged against the wall above her.

The brunette stumbled into a table that was before her, clutching and bending over it; breath ragged and uneven. Her hand felt something smooth, something familiar, the handle of something.

Her defeated eyes looked up at the object and a glimmer of hope sparked in her soul. A kitchen knife. She grabbed the blade just before the table jolted out of her reach.

The hollow stood before her and screeched as it sent a strong tentacle straight for her head. Slicing the air with the weapon, the thick mound of flesh landed on the floor and bounced like rubber. The creature hissed out in pain as foul liquid pooled out of its mouth.

Hobbling away from the angered monster, Regina clutched tightly to the handle of the knife. She turned just quick enough to the monster send a table gliding towards her. She jumped over it as it skidded into the wall behind her, enough force to crush both of her legs.

A hard impact knocked her down to the floor and she tasted the metallic case of blood in her mouth. The knife slid out of her hand onto the floor away from her. Her body screamed in pain and she felt the hollow loom over her; its shadow encasing her.

In one final attempt to survive, she dived for the blade. Scrambling to her feet as her hand gripped the weapon, she swung with all her might against the monster.

The hollow was decapitated as the sharp edge connected with its fleshy neck. Moisture covered Regina as the black fluid sprayed from the headless body. The remains of the creature stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the table.

The table caved in sending pots and pans clanging loudly onto the floor. The tentacles twitched violently before the body became still, the last signs of life fading.

Regina dropped the knife with a clatter and collapsed into the wall, holding her side in pain. A groan escaped her lips as she closed her eyes willing the pain to stop.

The headache had returned and it nearly split her brain in two. Her heart was pounding so hard that the beating echoed through her still ringing ears. Everything felt tingly and she was sure she would collapse at any moment.

Footsteps lead her eyes to the doorway of what she now realized was the kitchen. Emma stumbled slightly into the room, wincing at each step she took. Semi-dried blood crusted her head and her eyes were slightly empty.

Her eyes landed on the now dead monster and glanced up at Regina. Her eyes lingering dully as she took everything in. Regina decided to break the silence.

"You don't look too good." Emma's eyes glanced over slowly at the queen.

"You don't look too good yourself your **majesty**." She spat back, tripping over her feet into the wall behind her. She winced again as her head collided with the hard cement, clutching her temple.

Regina chuckled halfheartedly at the blondes stubbornness then winced herself as pain shot through her chest.

"Why are there four of you?" Emma questioned as she rubbed her eyes.

"Maybe because you hit your head really, **really** hard?" She stared dumbfounded at Regina.

"Why is there blood dripping down your leg?" Regina looked down at her leg and only saw a large patch of red before her vision swam and she had the urge to vomit.

"I don't know." She managed to choke out as she held down the bile that had formed in her throat.

"Here," Emma clumsily started to cross over the brunette. "let me help…" She tripped and landed on her forearms with a loud grunt.

Silence filled the room before Regina felt laughter rising in her chest. It started out as a soft chuckle then erupted in a painful laugh. The blonde joined in and her shoulders shook as she lay sprawled on the floor.

The two laughed at their own idiocy, laughed at their predicament they had found themselves in. The two only stopped as tears formed in their eyes and jolts of pain rocked their bodies.

Emma shook her head and groaned, becoming quiet again as she tried to get to her feet.

"Everything hurts." Regina nodded her head slightly in agreement.

"Yeah."

"It's like someone stabbed me twenty-four times in the…"

"Mmhm."

"And my ears…"

"Ringing."

"Its like I just died, internally and, and…" She searched for the word but only started off into nothing.

"Externally." Regina filled in. The blonde snapped back to reality.

"Yeah, externals or whatever." She waved her hand clumsily, tripping over nothing again. "Black." She muttered as she closed her eyes and leaned into the wall for support.

"Emma?"

"MhHm?" The blonde replied, eyes still closed. When the queen was still silent, Emma cracked open an eye. "What?" She croaked out, rubbing one of her temples.

"I—I just…" Regina started. "I just wanted to—."

" **What the hell is going on!?** " The voice barked through the kitchen, both women winced at the volume.

Olive stood in the doorway in her nightgown, a lantern clutched in her whitening grasp. Enoch stood next to her if Millard was there no one could tell as usual.

"It is the dead of night and… why the hell are both of you cover in blood!?" The room was filled with tension as Olive's chest heaved in anger.

"Hollow-thingy-magigure." Emma muttered softly, lazily lifted a finger to point at the giant corpse. Olive looked over at the blonde in concern then followed where her finger was directing.

Her gaze fell on the headless monster and she let out a small gasp, her mouth fell ajar, eyes bugging out of her head.

"What? How— What?" She looked back and forth between two, star struck.

"It came after us and well…" Regina gestured to the body. Olive pried her eyes from the hollow and glanced at their surroundings.

"You did quite the number on the ceiling." She examined the enormous crater in the plaster above them.

"You should see the upstairs." Emma grinned stupidly as the red head's gaze snapped to her in confusion.

"What do you mean? I swear if—."

"Olive." The voice next to her stopped Olive in her tracks. She turned to Enoch who had been examining the decapitated monster. "Both of them have had long, rough night. They both need medical attention especially the," He glanced up at Emma. "blonde."

Emma attempted to cross her arms at this but only succeeded in stumbling around some more. Enoch turned his attention back to Olive.

"Let's go easy on them, ok?" The redhead nodded and gestured toward the door.

"Let's go then." The two women started to the door, Emma stumbling more than walking. Enoch went over and wrapped an arm around her. Exiting the room, the four people made their way around the rubbled remains of the house.

You know the drill... I think? Idk, like and review. :)


	5. Chapter 5

The chamber was deathly silent as the four, maybe five people, sat in a large, open room. Emma sat on top of one of the tables as Enoch wrapped a bandage around her wounded arm. She let out a small wince as he tightened the bond, pulling strongly on it to stop the blood flow.

Regina let out a shaking breath, still trying to calm her buzzing nerves. Her fingers were twitching and she grasped them tightly in the hem of her tattered shirt in an attempt to still them. A steamy sensation filled her nose and eyes and she shook her head to clear her mind; taking in another deep breath.

Olive sat in the corner of the room fidgeting with a piece of broken wood; twirling it between her fingers, throwing it into the air. She missed the catch and it landed on the floor with a thud. She picked it up and threw it again, missing just the same.

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, she set it ablaze in her hand and brush the ashes from her. Getting to her feet, she crossed over to Enoch with an agitated expression plastered to her face.

"You almost done yet?" The boy looked up from the wound on Emma's temple he'd been examining.

"I've only checked out one of them and she's pretty badly… injured." He looked from Emma to Regina.

"They both need more advanced medical attention than we can provide here." His gaze fell back onto the red head and he gave her a knowing look.

Olive tapped her hand against her thigh in thought.

"We can't go into town with the mist— I mean **her** finding out, let alone two outsiders."

Enoch let out a nervous chuckle and gestured to the destroyed house around them.

"Look at this place. Not even all of us can cover up the tracks of what happened here. Besides, they really do need medical attention, and you and I both know the only place where there is a doctor of any kind. We have to go to town."

They stood there staring at each other, thinking of what really was unfolding before them. Both Olive and Enoch knew it was much more than they could handle by themselves.

"I'm sorry but am I missing something? Who's this **her** you keep mentioning?" Emma's drowsy voice filled the gap of silence.

Both boy and girl looked to each other, opening and closing their mouths like fish caught in a net. Regina raised an eyebrow at their helplessness.

"She's—I—um…" Olive trailed off and looked to Enoch for help. He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to examine the blonde. He uncorked a small bottle and poured some of the contents on a rag.

"Who?" She questioned as the redhead failed to answer her question. Olive still did not answer. "Is she like your guys's moth— **OW**!" She lurched back as Enoch pressed the rag to her open swollen wound.

"Son of a bitch! What the hell is that?!"

"I need to sterilize your wound, wouldn't want you to lose a limb now do we?" He reached forward again with the rag in his hand.

"Don't come anywhere near me with that!" She slurred as she swatted away his arm. Emma nearly falling off the table in the process, Enoch grabbed ahold of her of her shoulders to stabilize her.

"Hold still." He muttered but of course she only shrugged him away with the measly force she had.

Regina pinched the bridge of her nose and suppressed an oncoming headache.

"Emma stop acting like a petulant child and let him clean the cut. He's only trying to help you know." At this, Emma stilled slightly and gave the brunette a withering stare. Enoch took this opportunity to press the cloth against her injury again.

"Fucking, bitching son of a shit filled…" The tapestry of curses continued to weave their way through the room as Emma gritted her teeth at the stinging pain.

Regina shook her head and rested her elbows on her knees. The pain that coursed through her body hadn't died down one bit and it took all of her remaining strength not to cry out in pain at every movement she made. God, quite the mess had they gotten themselves into this time

.

"When do we plan to go to town then?" She questioned to Olive in particular, though both looked up at her in confusion and Regina rolled her eyes at their obliviousness.

"Come on. It's not like you were talking in whispers." Olive cleared her throat at this and looked down at the ground.

"We were thinking as soon as possible. Once we give both of you the best care we can. It's a little bit of a walk to town." Regina groaned at this, not liking the sound of a long walk one bit.

Enoch finished wiping off some blood on Emma's temple then helped her off the table. She staggered slightly and he helped her down into the chair next to Regina. Once settled, the blonde turned to the brunette and gave her an indifferent, tired look.

"Your turn."

Regina sighed as she got up and limped over to the table. The boy helped her perch on top of it and inspected the large gash on her leg. He frowned as he poked at some of the tender, bloody flesh. Regina inhaled sharply at the quick jolt of pain.

"How bad is it?" Regina groaned, closing her eyes.

Enoch reached for a wad of gauze and started to unfurl a piece and wrap it around the queen's leg. After it was secured in place he felt around the leg and bent it slowly back and forth.

"Hm?" She questioned when she didn't receive a response. His fingers hit a sore spot and she winced as tears of pain blurred her vision. He let out a huff and made eye contact with Regina

"Your leg's pretty badly mauled and, from what I can tell," He inspected her leg again. "your Tibia is completely shattered."

Regina blinked back more tears as he tapped her shin and an agonizing sensation wracked her body. Getting up from his knee, Enoch inspected a large slash that had stained her shirt a deep crimson.

Ripping away the bloodied article of clothing, he grabbed a pair a tweezers and prided a splinter from the wound. Regina held back the bile that was forming in her throat, and closed her eyes once more to block out any unwanted images.

"Olive." He called out, still focused on his patient's injury. "Find her a decent sized piece of wood." Olive nodded understandingly and headed out into the hallway.

"So…" Regina started, eyes still closed. The air was still filled with crushing silence so she kept her mouth shut. Anyways, she didn't know what to say. After a while, the pain ceased and she heard the chink of glass bottles. Cracking open an eye, she spied Enoch mixing the contents of two bottles into a small beaker.

Pouring the clear liquid into a syringe, he put both corks back in the bottles, quickly cleaning off his work table. Regina felt queasy at the idea of being punctured by that glinting needle.

"What's that for?"

Enoch flicked the syringe and looked back at the queen.

"For the pain." He replied shortly, giving her a grin. She wasn't sure if it was supposed to be reassuring or threatening, but either way it was manic. The boy bent back down to her leg and inserted the needle into the broken flesh, she let out a soft whimper.

Pushing the strange liquid into her veins, he took out the syringe and set it down onto the table. Her whole leg started to feel puffy and swollen. Most of the pain vanished and she let out a sigh of relief.

He cleaned a few more wounds and stitched up a rather nasty slash across her back. After wiping off the remaining blood, he helped her down from the table.

She wasn't expecting her leg to be so weak, and she nearly collapsed as it buckled under her weight. Enoch grabbed her by the waist and steadied her on her feet. Olive handed her a tall piece of broken board and she grasped onto it. It felt strange, depending on the object in order for her to function.

"It's only temporary." Enoch gestured to the homemade crutch. "Until we find someone who knows how to craft a decent splint."

Regina nodded in understanding and shifted to face Emma who was slipping between awake and unconscious. Her eyelids were droopy and Regina could see blood seeping through most of her bandages.

"We need to go, now." Olive's voice had detectable concern laced in it.

"Which way is the town?" Regina looked between the two. Olive took in a deep breath; looking her in the eyes.

"Through the woods."


	6. Chapter 6

Cold night air hit Regina in the face as she opened the back door and stood in the late moonlight. The moon was nestled in dark clouds high above in the sky, and nightly birds and insects hummed low eerie songs of sorrow.

The mansion behind her looked out of a horror film in this lighting. Its tall, crumbling spires twisted into the dark horizon. Slanted roofs and walls joined at strange angles, broken shingles adding creepy accents.

Regina spied a large window on the second floor; the drapes drawn closed. Something about it was familiar, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. The frame, the windowsill, seemed oddly similar, like she had seen it before. Hell, everything about the building was vaguely familiar. It was at the tip of her tongue, though, and her hazy head wasn't helping a bit.

The door opened behind her and she turned to see Olive stepping onto the back porch. In her hands she held two electric lanterns that sent blueish light casting over the dew covered grass and her pink dress. She handed one to the queen and she accepted it, taking the cold metal handle in her hand.

"Thought you would like your own light source for the journey." The read head put on a forced smile, Regina only nodded.

"Hey look, thanks for all that back there. We really owe you big time." The brunette turned to face her, slightly confused.

"For what?" Olive chuckled softly at her response.

"Oh you know, killing a hollowgast, saving all of us. Not to mention putting both you and your friend's lives and at risk to defeat that… thing." Olive turned to look at her and Regina shrugged, her mouth still pulled tightly shut. Olive frowned slightly at the queen's silence.

"Hey, you ok?" Regina was the one to chuckle this time.

"Besides the fact that my leg is broken, I am still recovering from shock and Emma is possibly fatally injured? Just peachy." There was silence between the two as they took in their surroundings. The last words of the conversation hung thickly in the air around them.

"You know we think there's more of them." The words came as a surprise to Regina and she gave the fire girl a concerned look.

"Why do you think that?" Olive sighed and surveyed the landscaped before them. A bird flew across the field; its shadow swooshed over the open grass.

"About an hour ago we sent Millard into the woods as a scout since tonights 'incident'" She made quotation in the air around the word, "he came back not ten minutes ago and reported strange activity in the forest. Strange sounds and the scattering of indigenous wildlife." Regina gulped at the thought of another one of those things still out there, right there lurking in the trees before them.

"So why is it still hypothetical? Because he didn't actually see the thing?" There was an unsettling silence from the girl. Finally, she answered in a soft voice.

"Well, that's the thing. We can't actually see them." Regina turned to the girl, her brow furrowed in a multitude of confusion.

"What do you mean you can't see them? I saw that ugly creature with my own two eyes!" Olive took a deep breath in and started to explain.

"See that's just the reason we can't defeat those things on our own." When Regina still looked confused she continued on. "There's a reason we picked **you** two to help us. We can't see them but you can. Your entire town, it's in abundance of these things that normal people can't see but the residents can. We can't explain it whatsoever, can you?"

Regina shook her head, her brows still furrowed. She had never noticed anything strange in Storybrook yet, here she was with a fire-wielding teenager telling her that strange things were running wild down Main Street. She really needed to get back.

"The weirdest part is that usually, the ability to see the hollows is a gift. An ability if you will. One of the gifts that classifies us as so called 'peculiars'".

"So you're saying that everyone in Storybrooke is peculiar? That's an awful lot of people." The entire Enchanted Forest to be exact, but Regina didn't say that part out loud.

"Well, that could be a theory but we don't know for sure. We know very little about this 'Storybrook' of yours." There was quiet again.

Her mind was spinning. It was too much at once, this need to help these children and now this new idea about everyone in Storybrooke secretly being freaks or peculiar whatever. If she didn't know any better she would have dismissed all of it as bullshit. She was experiencing a wave of nausea and needed to get some rest or sit down at least.

'Damn this throbbing headache.'

Just then the door opened behind her and Enoch stepped outside to join them, Emma stabilizing herself on his shoulder. She looked worse than ever; her eyes empty and the bandage around her head soaked in crimson, fresh blood.

"I brought some extra provisions and batteries for the lanterns." He held up a small duffle bag and tossed it to Olive. She briefly looked through the bag before buckling it back up and tossing it back.

"We should probably get going." Everyone nodded and started walking towards the thick mass of woods before them, Olive leading. Regina's makeshift cane did little good and right off the bat and she knew it was going to be a long, painful walk.

Regina knew they couldn't have been walking for more than forty minutes but it felt like it had been an eternity. The twisted woodlands around her curled into the air and reached out for her. Black bark and sharp twigs groping to pull her back into the air and lose her in the sea of menacing shapes.

In this part of the woods the sounds of living creatures were dulled and luring. Rustling in the trees above them broken the deep sounds everyone in a while, cause the group to stop and search the trees around them in fear.

The moon sill perched in the sky though, slowing but surely setting in the West. Dead leaves crunched under each person's feet, and cold air seeped through Regina's clothes, chilling her to the bone.

Her leg was not faring as well as she hoped it would. She had adjusted and coped to walking with the stick, but it didn't help the fact that the pain killers were wearing off. At this point, if anything attacked them now they were guaranteed dead meat.

The gang reached what appeared to be a bog, halting in front of it. The stench soon followed and Regina plunged her nose, gagging on the wretched smell. It seemed to be alive, gurgling and bubbling, the brown mud emitting a gaging smell. Fallen logs poked out from the bog as they had been sucked under for who knows how long.

"Now everyone copy my footsteps exactly unless you want to sink to the bottom." Olive's voice was stern but quiet as she started across the bog. Enoch readjusted Emma's weight against him and slowly followed after the red head.

Not wanting to meet an untimely fate, Regina soon followed after them, taking cautious steps. The thick mud curing around the bottom parts of her shoes. After a few steps, her cane sunk deeply into the mud and she had to pry it from the thick sludge. The pulling force was too much and she briefly lost her balance. As she tried to stabilize herself, a foot was sucked under into the mud. She tugged on her pant leg but it wouldn't budge, it stayed there still knee deep in the foul substance.

Huffing, she pulled harder again and the leg only moved an inch higher before sinking back down further. The feeling was sickening as the mud curled around and into her clothes. Her nostrils burned from the retched stench as she bent toward the leg and tried to pull it out again. This time with a final heave her leg was freed and her leg slowly emerged, brown mud oozing off it. Bile formed in her throat and she resisted the urge to gag as she shook off the leg and set it carefully back down in one of Enoch's fading footprints.

"Hurry up! We need to get there as soon as possible!" Olive's shrill call made Regina roll her eyes and groan as she again set off across the bog. God she wanted to strangle that little teenager's neck right now.

There were some close calls the rest of the way, one in particular where she almost fell face first into the mud as her injured leg caught a fallen tree root, but she soon made it to dry land where the others were waiting. As she stumbled onto the solid dirt, Olive and Enoch gave her a strange look as she practically fell forward.

"What?" Regina glared at them. "You try crossing that with a broken leg." The redhead only shrugged and Enoch adjusted Emma's body that leaned limply against him. The queen noticed that Emma's eyes were closed and her face was deathly pale. Her breathing was ragged and shallow as her eyelids fluttered only slightly. Her legs were as weak as pool noodles as they buckled under her weight.

"We should really hurry up." Enoch's soft voice broke Regina's worries and she nodded. They continued down the gnarled path, ominous shadows casting along the dead forest floor.

Regina's leg was now weighed down by the mud that clung to her pant leg and her walk was lopsided and painful. She tried to think about anything else to distract her, but all she do was worry about everything. Worry about being mauled by a monster that was lurking in these woods, worry about everyone back in Storybrooke. She worried if Henry was safe and if he even knew they were missing. Was her own son looking for them, searching for his mothers? How they had gotten here in the first place? Where were they anyway? The thought had occurred to her but she hadn't really thought about it much. Were they in a different realm, dimension, parallel universe? To be honest none of those options were ridiculous after all the shit she had been through in the past.

On top of all of that, she worried for Emma. The image of the blonde dying so weak and helpless plagued her thoughts. Her skin so pale and her face in such a painful expression. She couldn't help but wonder if they didn't reach the doctor in time, that she wouldn't make it.

No, she couldn't think like that. After all the things they had been through together this was a piece of cake, wasn't it? A dead stick snapped beneath her foot and she kicked it aside.

She looked up at her traveling companions and watched as their dark, cloaked figures treaded on in front of her. Olive's bright red hair practically glowed in the darkness as it swayed from side to side as she walked. Enoch's tall frame almost blended in with the trees' tall branches that surrounded them. She wondered for a brief second what this 'peculiar' ability was, as Olive had described it. A bubbling sound filled her ears and she groaned.

'Not another bog' she thought to herself. 'I don't need to ruin my pair of pants and perfectly good shoes any further.' But as they traveled on, there was no bogg to be seen.

Regina focused more on the sound and her hazy head could barely make out the sound of dripping. 'Dripping,' she thought. 'Why is that so familiar?' She was still walking along the path, dead leaves crunching under her feet, but something was missing, the sound of wildlife. There were no songbirds, there were no insects, there was no rustling in the bushes around them, just that dripping.

'What had Olive said about wildlife?' Her mind wasn't thinking right and she tried to get the answer she was looking for. The sound was louder and she searched herself for what to do. 'Something about…' Then something clicked.

Monster.

As soon as the realization came she heard Olive call her name frightened as the world became a blur. She was flying then the ground hit her, hard.

She couldn't see anything as pain shot up her leg and dark shapes moved before her eyes. Her hands felt around on the ground aimlessly for something to grab. All she got was handfuls of coarse dirt.

A bright light appeared before her and she squinted her eyes. Olive held a lantern, no, a ball of fire in her hand. She threw it at the hollow and it seared off only a small chuck of its skin as it thrashed out.

Regina didn't stay much longer to see what happened next. She pulled herself up onto her screaming feet and felt around in the darkness as she stumbled away. Her hands hit something and she veered around it, stumbling over twigs and roots. It was more terrifying than the first time she ran from one of the hollows, being in the dark and alone.

'Dead meat.' She couldn't help but think. 'Like I said before, I'm dead meat.' Her legs hit something large and he bent over to keep from falling over. She stepped over it with one leg, than the other. Her injured foot couldn't hold her weight and she tumbled over, her body defeated and weak. She scooted across the forest floor and leaned against a fallen log. She stayed there and closed her eyes.

The sounds of snapping twigs and dripping became louder as she curled up terrified, her knees to her chest.

'It's not long now, till it'll tear me apart and do god knows what to me.' She didn't even try to think of a way out as the shadow of the monster loomed towards her. Her body was so injured, so tired, she didn't care if it took her now.

'That terrible hissing would be the last thing I will ever hear.' She didn't dare look up as she could smell the monster's breath. It was right there in front of her, she could tell. The smell of sizzling meat filled her head as liquid dripped onto her.

Regina flinched as something grazed her cheek, something slimy and moist. She squeezed her eyes shut as her chest heaved. 'It will all be over soon.' The slimy thing roamed her face up to her eye lids that stayed firmly shut. The pressure became more and more intense as it slowly and painfully tried to bore into her eyes. She could only let out a whimper as her blood pumped through her head as the pain became unbearable. Now she wanted to get away but she was trapped against the log. She struggled but the monster continued its attempts.

An ear piercing shriek filled her ears and she cried out in pain as she felt her eardrums splitting. The pressure was released from her eyelids and she looked up to see an arrow imbedded in the hollow's chest.

The last thing she remembered seeing was the silhouette of a woman holding a crossbow, before she blacked out.


	7. Chapter 7

Someone was screaming. That was the only thing that Regina was aware of in her blackened surroundings. It sounded congested and hollow as if underwater, but all the while still there. The screams were neither male nor female, but of some creature. She couldn't tell if they were of pain or cries for help, all she knew was something was very wrong.

The screams became louder and louder as each second passed, the sounds of something tearing soon followed. The tearing was almost as unpleasant as the creatures cries, cloth being ripped apart unforgivingly. Regina tried to open her eyes, but found that she had no control over her body, no sense of person at all. Only the sense of liquid around her, filling every pore, every crevasse, invaded her mind.

In that moment she realized she was drowning. She couldn't struggle, she couldn't try to save herself, she was just slowly dying. Her throat was dry and chalky from her screaming, the sounds distorted and disfigured in the water around her. As she felt her body sink a pressure sat heavily on her chest, crushing her ribs one by one, turning her bones to dust.

The hands that didn't feel like hers clawed at her clothes, ripping them to shreds. The torn articles of clothing were pried from her and cast into the ocean of water around her until she was naked and vulnerable.

Her head was pounding with the rush of her blood, slowly drowning out her mangled screams. The blackness around her slowly faded into light as she slipped away. The water enveloped around her and her eyes rolled back into her head.

Regina gasped and sat up quickly, a cold sensation covering her body. She spat out the water in her mouth and squinted in the blindingly bright light. Her heart was racing and she looked around her surroundings in confusion, having no idea where she was.

Through the wet strings of hair that she brushed aside behind her ear she saw the grinning face of a certain infuriating blonde.

"Morn'ing sunshine." Emma set down the bucket she held in her hand onto the floor beside her. "You know I've always wanted to that to someone," she frowned then looked up at Regina, then grinned at the scowl the queen wore.

"Yep, just as satisfying as I imagined it."

Regina glared at her and attempted to dry herself off with one of the bed sheets.

"You know though," the blonde scratched her head. "I was expecting you to throw a fireball or something at me. Then again since that's not an option, a solid punch in the face was my second guess."

Regina grumbled and rolled her eyes at Emma's remark. Unfortunately for her though, her clothes were now sticking to her and her whole body felt wet and heavy.

"Who gave you the chatty pill this morning?" The brunette's voice was groggy and it surprised Regina to hear herself like that. Emma only held up her arm to reveal a small puncture wound, slightly red and inflamed.

"The doctor gave me some weird voodoo stuff for my injury, you know." She tapped her bandaged head which to Regina's surprise was faring much better since she had last seen it bloodied and broken. "And I think it affects people like those happy pills they give to people in rehab? I don't know. All I know is it hurt like a son of a bitch."

Regina snorted and swung her legs over the side of the cot.

"It's also not the morning, its mid afternoon. You were out so hard that I was worried that you weren't going to wake up anytime soon," She raised a hand animatedly to her mouth, leaning in and whispering, "if you know what I mean."

The queen frowned at the blonde's display. Whatever the doctor had given her, it was making her really, really loopy. Regina wasn't sure if she found it amusing or concerning.

"That's why I resorted to the old bucket o'l water. And, as you can tell, it worked!" Emma clapped her hands together in a childish-sort-of way, her mouth and eyes grinning with delight.

Regina smiled to herself and agreed that she found high Emma amusing. She looked around her surroundings some more as the blonde babbled on more about the "traumatic" experience of having a unsterilized needle shoved into her arm.

They were in a small hut undoubtedly a physicians quarters of some sort. Books lay scattered around the place, opened and closed in the most random of places. One, Regina spotted, sat in a flower pot next to some marigolds, its pages halfway submerged in the dirt.

Collections of bottles were organized neatly on one of the desks in the far corner, and medical instruments decorated the walls on various hooks and shelves. Three cots occupied the small area, the two she and Emma were occupying, and one more that was empty.

The hut was filled with golden sunlight that streamed in from a small skylight in the faded ceiling. It gave the whole place a homey feel compared to the wickedly sharp instruments the doctor had decorated his walls with.

"I mean they have to have some precautions! Who knows how many people's' blood that thing had touched! God knows how many diseases I could have now! It's not like it would be indecent to—"

"Miss Swan, will you shut up already?" The blonde was cut off by Regina's sharp interruption.

Emma closed her mouth slowly and put her hands in her lap from where they were animating the tale she was telling.

"It's not the end of the world! Just be glad they didn't have to amputate your head!" The queen spat and Emma's eyes widened in fear. She looked like a sad puppy dog and Regina almost laughed out loud in spite of herself. Instead she huffed and fiddled with her wet hair. Her eyes again landed on the book that lay in the flower pot and Regina furrowed her brows. "I'm just a little concerned that doctor is a little off the hook himself, I wouldn't put it past him." She muttered just loud enough for Emma to hear.

She looked casually back to the blonde to see her mouth hanging open and staring at her, petrified with fear. This time Regina chuckled, gently put a finger under Emma's chin, closing her gaping expression. "Close your mouth, dear. Don't want any flies to go in, hm?" She laughed again as Emma gulped and massaged her neck.

The sound of people talking reached Regina's ears. It was soft and dulled, and she thought she could pinpoint it coming from behind the closed door. One of the voices was deep and masculine, while the other was more aged and high pitched. The words were undetectable except for a few which Regina distinguished as, "…Treatment….Realm…children…." Nothing helpful, but the unknown conversion was still very nerve-wracking to the queen.

"What do you think they're talking about?" The voice made Regina jump and out of the corner of her eye she saw Emma resting her chin on her shoulder. She sighed and brushed her off quickly and the blonde resumed to sitting cross legged across from her.

"Probably about us." She remembered vaguely the strange figure before she had… passed out? Regina couldn't remember what had happened exactly but the sight of the figure was etched into her mind. "Do you remember anything about the woods?"

Emma scrunched up her face and thought hard. She shook her head and her bedridden curls danced over her shoulders.

"Nope. Everything was really black from the point where I…" She looked up to the sky and squinted her eyes, trying to remember. She finally shrugged dramatically. "I don't know. Everything is just kinda blurred together. Lots of shapes and colors, but nothing…" Again she scrunched up her face in thought. "Damn! I can't remember the word. It was like something… no it was… like this!" She pounded her fist against the bed. "You know what I mean?"

Regina of course had no idea what the blonde meant, but instead nodded her head as convincingly as she could.

"Yeah, I understand completely." Emma grinned at this as if she had just won a giant accomplishment and hummed a little ditty as she played with her own baggy t-shirt.

The brunette blinked and shook her head. Emma was definitely not going to be much of a help right now. She watched the blonde look fascinated as she intertwined her fingers, twisting them and pulling them apart. She looked kinda cute with her mouth slightly open and her green eyes wide with excitement.

Regina was surprised to hear the door creak open and turned to see both Olive and Enoch standing in the doorway. As they entered the small hut she couldn't help but noticed how disheveled and glum they looked. Like someone had been screaming in their faces for an hour straight.

"Good afternoon!" The cheery greeting came from Emma and Olive gave her a weirded out look.

"What's up with her?" The redhead asked, giving Emma and all too often look of concern. Emma crossed her arms defiantly and put on an over-exaggerated pout.

"Oh, her?" Regina gestured to the cross legged blonde. "Doctor gave her something, I'm not sure what it was but…" The queen laughed nervously. Emma beside her started braiding her own hair, though failing because of her matted locks. "Just… just ignore her." Regina waved them off and Enoch raised his eyebrows.

"Okay…" Olive cast one more look at the blonde them shook her head and turned back to Regina. "I hope you're feeling better, but… we have to get going soon." The last part was rushed and a tad desperate.

Tilting her head, Regina chewed the inside of her cheek in frustration. "Why the hurry? Do you need to be somewhere?"

Olive huffed and took a seat on the cot opposite of the brunette. Regina noticed however, that Enoch remained standing, toying with the cuffs of his coat.

"No, no it's just…" She searched for the right words.

"Something's come up." Enoch finished and Olive nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, something's come up and the sooner we get out of town, the better." Regina was slightly taken aback by this and shook her head in confusion.

"The sooner we get out of town the better? We just spent all our energy **trying** to get to town and now you're telling me that all that was for nothing?" She could feel the anger rolling off of her, but she didn't try to stop it. Now she **really** wanted to strangle that teenager right now.

"Shhhhhh, hush. There, there, relax." The words were whispered into her ear Emma patted her back softly.

"Miss Swan?"

"Mhm?"

"Get the hell off me."

"Will do." Emma retreated back and sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs childishly. Enoch snorted and poorly tried to hide his smile as Regina shot a death glare his way. She turned back to Olive who was bitting her lip, also repressing a smirk.

"So what's this 'something' that you were mentioning?" The queen snapped as she pressed on. If she didn't have control of what to do she would know the reasons why.

"Oh right, that. Well…" Olive swallowed and looked to Enoch for help. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on. Last time you didn't tell us something half of your mansion was destroyed by one of those monsters. Now spit it up. Why do we have to leave town so early?" Regina looked between the two as she waited for an answer. "I'm waiting." She was starting to get impatient with these freak teenagers.

"It's our mistress." Enoch was the one to speak up much to Regina's surprise.

"And all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place." The brunette muttered and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Let me guess: she didn't know about this little mission of yours nor did she want you to bring us here?"

The two teenagers looked at each other then the ground. Regina took their silence as conformation and sighed deeply.

"Great." She stood up and started pacing around in the cramped space of the hut. "Just great."

"That's actually why we came in here in the first place." Olive tried to explain but Regina put up a hand to stop her. This really was turning into a shitty day for her and she didn't need some teenager's excuses.

"Does she own a crossbow by any chance?" Everyone looked at Emma who had voiced the question. That stupid smile wasn't plastered to her face so Regina assumed that she was coming down from whatever the doctor had put in her system.

"Yeah, actually. How did you know that?" The blonde shrugged and rubbed her temples.

"I remembered someone with a crossbow in the middle of the woods. It's very hazy but I'm pretty sure it was a woman… Hey! Everything isn't in double anymore!"

Everyone shook their heads and returned to the conversation.

"She said she would like to talk to the two of you. Once you were feeling well enough of course."

Regina frowned and looked over at the blonde who seemed halfway engaged in their conversation.

"That should be soon, give or take a few minutes. Given that neither of us passes out randomly." Her gaze was still trained on Emma who was blinking her eyes rapidly. Olive nodded in understanding.

"Well then," She sat up from the cot and straitened the pink fabric of her dress. "We should let you too get some last-minute rest. Holler when your ready or is you need us for some freak reason." Regina was the one to nod this time and with that Enoch and Olive left the room. Enoch cast one final look of concern towards Emma, then closed the door behind them.

"That was boring."

Regina looked over to Emma and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Emma gave her a pointed look and the brunette just shrugged.

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

"Am not!"

"Are too!" Emma squinted her eyes and stared straight at the queen. Regina huffed at the blondes childish behavior.

"Dear, please stop acting like petulant child and get some rest or something. You're only embarrassing yourself even further than you have already."

Emma huffed and plopped down onto her own cot, turning away from Regina so her back was to her. Regina was sometimes convinced that woman had the mindset of a preschooler. Falling back onto the pillow behind her, Regina stared at the ceiling thinking about how they were going to get out of this hell hole.

'Soon.' She told herself. 'Soon.'


	8. Chapter 8

When Regina opened her eyes again, not much had changed since she had first closed them. Afternoon light still streamed into the small hut through the skylight. Emma still lay on the cot next to her. The blonde's chest fell softly and her eyes were peacefully shut; visibly apparent that she was deeply asleep. Regina stayed there for a couple minutes, thinking to herself before she was interrupted by a soft knocking on the door.

She turned her head to the side to find a middle-aged man peeking into the room. A pair of thick-lensed glasses sat upon his gray-tinted head of hair. He gave her an awkward, half smile and completely entered the room. The door stayed open just a crack behind him.

"Um, your —uh— **friends** ," He focused on the word, "Said to—uh—tell you that when you woke up to tell uh," The man wrung his hands nervously.

Regina narrowed her eyes, wishing he would just spit it out. The man tried to find his words in a series of stutters and mumbles.

"To tell me what?" Regina was getting annoyed with this little man.

"To tell you that—uh— they're in the piss hole waiting for you— I mean when ya' woke up they told me to—."

"Excuse me, what did you say?"

"They told me to tell ya' they're—uh— in the piss hole."

"Piss hole?" Regina repeated, confused.

"Ya, you know the piss hole? The only pub in all of Cairnholm."

Regina's eyes widened and she nodded in understanding. She felt so stupid in the moment. But, why should she? How was she supposed to know that a place called 'The Piss Hole' was a pub?

"Oh, I see. Of course, the pub."

The man squinted his eyes at her, looking her up and down. "Say, you're not from around these parts are ya'? Come to think of it—uh—I don't think I've ever seen ya' here before. Where'd you say your—uh—from again?"

Regina took in a sharp breath.

"I never said I was from anywhere." The man's constant muttering was really getting on her nerves. She looked over at Emma, who was still sleeping deeply in her cot.

"Oh don't worry 'bout her. You can go off to your—uh— friends." The man had followed her gaze and was now staring back at her. Regina narrowed her eyes again.

"Why should I trust you?" The words came out harsher than she intended The man looked slightly offended and held up his hands in surrender.

"Because I'm the god damned doctor 'round these parts! Relax—uh—take it easy, lady. Just trying to be—uh—helpful.

"Oh." She felt stupid again. Of course, this man was the doctor, why else would he be here? Though she could feel a headache coming on from his constant jabbering. It was becoming increasingly annoying by the second. "Right, well," She stood up from the cot and turned to face him, sending one last worried glance toward the sleeping blonde.

"Make sure you take care of her. If anything changes come find me immediately. And if anything happens when I'm gone—."

"Ok, ok she'll be fine. Uh, relax." The doctor stared her down. Regina swallowed but nodded, casting one more look, before heading past the doctor and out the door.

The sky was overcast over what appeared to be a small harbor town. Not that there was much if a harbor by the looks of it, only a few battered ships and a crumbling lighthouse in the distance. Weather-worn shacks and streets reeked of gutted fish and the salty sea. Bird shit covered almost everything in sight and Regina wrinkles her nose in disgust. A nippy wind blew against her and she shivered, pulling her coat closer.

A few people were up and about, most sent strange looks Regina's way as she walked down the dusty road. Aware of how out-of-place she looked, she tried to keep her head high and ignore them. Though that was very hard considering how freaking cold it was.

Dodging a couple piles of animal excrement along the way, she soon came across a large, wooden building. It was only large in the sense that it was bigger than most of the crappy shacks in the poor excuse of a town. A large sign above it read 'The Priest Hole.'

"Why couldn't have he just called it that?" Regina mumbled to herself as she trudged up the rotted steps. She winced as her leg let out a stabbing pain. By god, if only she had magic, that would have been completely fixed by now. All of this would have been fixed.

Unfortunately, the inside of the Priest Hole was just as inviting as the outside. The stale musk of cheap ale and fish lingered inside the cramped space of the pub. Beaten up chairs and shaky tables littered the small space, and at the bar, stools. There were a few patrons sitting at the bar, dressing in dripping wet fishing gear, sipping beer, but it was generally slow.

Regina spotted the group of misfit teenagers at the table farthest from the door, right smack in the only available corner of the establishment. They seemed to see her too, straightening in their seats and stared at her. Shifting uncomfortably, Regina wove her way towards them through the maze of furniture.

Sitting down in an empty seat, Regina stayed silent, waiting. They were all watching her and she could feel it. Keeping eye contact with Olive, the brunette stared back.

After what felt like a good couple of solid seconds, Olive broke her gaze and shifted in her seat.

"How's your friend faring?" The harmless question struck Regina the wrong way and her temper threatened to make an appearance. She shoved it down.

" **Emma** ," She emphasized, "is doing better, or I hope she is anyway. She was sleeping when I left to find you."

Olive nodded and focused her attention on the coin she was twirling around her fingers. Enoch, beside her, seemed to be very invested in a chip in the table; scratching at it with his index finger. If Regina could see Millard, she presumed he would be doing something similar. If he was even her at all. Regina tapped her finger impatiently.

"Ok," She broke. "Why the hell are we here?"

Both (or all three) teenagers looked up at her and grimaced. The was a pause of silence. Regina was getting really tired of these dips shits.

"Look," Enoch started, "It's not like we don't want to tell you…" He trailed off.

"It's just we don't want you to know." Olive finished for him, nodding her head in agreement. Enoch nodded his head back.

This statement also rubbed Regina the wrong way, if not for its sheer contradictory, but also for its stupidity. She hated how these **children** always danced around her questions. Her tapping became more rapid.

"So you don't trust me… or you do?" Her tone was edged, said through gritted teeth.

Olive shrunk back in her seat, but Enoch kept his ground, staring down the queen. His eyes narrowed.

"We **do** trust you, but that's the thing. We shouldn't. Not without getting on the wrong side our mistress."

"It always comes back to your mistress, doesn't it?" Regina's voice was dangerous, "But I haven't seen one bit of your so-called 'mistress'. How can I believe you when you say you want to help me when you haven't done a thing! As far as I'm concerned, all you have done is endangered Emma and I, got us nearly killed, and for what? To help save your little shit hole of a town?

"Look, I know it seems hard to believe," Olive started, looking slightly shocked. "But we really do need your help, but we can't get in trouble with our mistress!"

"Sounds like a personal problem to me, and I don't want any part in it! I know Emma would want to help you, but she isn't here now because of the danger **you** put her in!" Her voice was raised now, as she stood abruptly, chair scraping across the floor.

"You can just run back to your little mistress and figure out your own damned problems. Hell, if your that afraid of her, then maybe the monsters will be too!" She turned to leave.

"Please, wait," Olive called out. Regina didn't stop. "We need your help, this isn't something we can fix on our own, please!" But her voice faded as Regina exited the building and slammed the door shut behind her.

Walking as fast as her injured leg would allow her, Regina headed down the road in the opposite direction this time. She heard the door open behind her and steps advancing on her. Enoch skidded in front of her, making her stop.

"Get out of my way," Regina growled, glaring at the boy who had the guts the purposely cut her off.

"We need to talk about this."

"Get out of my way." She repeated, attempting to maneuver around him. He stepped back into her path and held up a hand.

"Just hear me out." His dark eyes bored into hers, almost pleading, making Regina hesitate. She thought for a second. Her anger diminished slightly and she rolled her eyes. Enoch nodded and continued.

"I know all of this," He motioned around him, "was all very sudden and unexpected, and we apologize," Regina snorted. Very sudden indeed. "but we are desperate. If you want to meet our mistress, fine. We can arrange that. But I must warn you, it's probably not going to be very pretty."

Regina raised her eyebrows as he took a breath, tone calm and even.

"But, nevertheless, we really do need your help. I don't know why you, you can ask Olive for the details on that, but you and your frie—," He stopped himself. "Emma, are crucial to stopping all of our demises."

The stood there, staring at each other for the longest second. She thought about what the boy had just said.

She thought about what Emma would do.

Regina let out a breath and nodded, feeling bad for her sudden outburst. She would help these hormonal teenagers, even if it did cost her a broken leg and an unbelievable amount of therapy bills.

"Ok?"

Regina nodded. "Ok."

Enoch himself visibly relaxed, looking up into the sky and sighing.

"Hey, sorry if I scared you girlfriend back there." She said with a sheepish smile.

"She's not my girlfriend and it's ok," He rubbed the back of his neck, "we were being pretty annoying about this whole thing."

"You bet you were," Regina muttered under her breath and Enoch sent a glare in her direction.

"Miss!" Regina peered behind Enoch to see the doctor jogging towards them. His head placed upon his head to keep his glasses in place "Miss!"

"What is it?" Regina said, worry tinging her voice. Her mind could only think of the worst. Emma was not getting better. "Is she ok? Did something happen? What is it?"

The doctor failed to answer and he stopped in front of them and wheezed, clearly short of breath. He keeled over and placed his hands on his knees.

"Hello? I said what happened?" Regina tried to stay calm, but the question came out frantic.

"Give the man a second to breathe, would ya?" Enoch muttered. It was Regina's turn to shoot him a glare. She turned back to the doctor.

"Your friend she —uh— is," He gasped for air, "she is —uh—," gasp, "doing —uh— well you see—."

"Spit it out already!"

The doctor wearily waved her on. "She's —uh—," gasp, "doing better."

There was a pause. "Oh," Regina closed her mouth and straightened.

"She just woke up and —uh— is asking for you."

Regina straightened her coat, not daring to steal a glance from Enoch. She could feel his judging smirk radiating next to her.

"I see." She cleared her throat and licked her lips. "I should go see her then." The doctor gave her a weird look and she gave a quick nod to Enoch, before heading down the street once more.

"Meet me at the docks in about half an hour!" Enoch called from behind her, and she mentally kept track of it. Right now though, she was more focused on going to see her infuriating blonde.


End file.
